Filming began yesterday at Whitstable Harbour for Hello & Paris, and the first scenes drew cast and crew to the waterfront as they shot a Harbour Market sequence that was believed to be doubling as New York.
Confirmed sightings of Javier Bardem were made on set, giving the production an early jolt of star power as work got underway on the romantic comedy directed by Elizabeth Chomko. The film is loosely based on the novel That Part Was True and follows two fiercely independent people whose transatlantic romance grows through books and recipes, with a plot line that echoes You’ve Got Mail.
That mix of familiar romance and literary charm is what makes Hello & Paris worth watching beyond the harbour set itself. Whitstable’s market and waterfront can stand in for a far larger city on camera, which is why the location fits a story that moves between places and pairings with ease.
The one uncertainty still hanging over the shoot is whether Kate Hudson will join the production. At the time of reporting, that had not been confirmed, leaving the cast list incomplete even as cameras were already rolling in Whitstable.
For now, the production has answered the biggest immediate question: Hello & Paris is no longer just a title and a premise, but a film in motion, with Whitstable Harbour serving as its opening setting and Bardem already in view.
